Makenzie Berkland will be presenting a 6-week course designed as an introduction to competitive horse judging while also providing youth with previous judging experience to brush up on the most common classes. We will cover Halter, Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Horsemanship, Equitation, Ranch Horse classes, and Oral Reasons. Each evening, we will cover one or two of these topics in an interactive format with opportunities to ask questions. Participants will submit placings on classes that will be tracked throughout the series. Sessions will start Sunday, October 15th, from 6 p.m.-8:00 p.m. and run through November 19th. The course is designed for youth in 7th-12th grade.
Mackenzie Berkland recently graduated from West Texas A&M with an Equine Industry and Business degree. She has competed in horse judging competitively since joining 4-H in 5th grade. She won the Iowa 4-H horse judging contest twice in high school and the Western National Round-Up representing Iowa 4-H and several other National contests. After high school graduation, she attended Black Hawk College East and won the collegiate spring contest under Aaron Callahan before transferring to West Texas A&M. In the fall of 2021, she won high individual at the Quarter Horse Congress; in the fall of 2022, she won high overall individual at Arabian Nationals. This past fall, she also helped coach a Junior 4-H horse judging team in Iowa virtually from Texas, and in her free time, she also shows ranch horses competitively.
Schedule
- Oct. 15: Introduction to Horse Judging
- Oct. 22: Halter
- Oct. 29: Western Pleasure & Hunter Under Saddle
- Nov. 5: Horsemanship & Equitation
- Nov. 12: Ranch Pleasure & Ranch Riding
- Nov. 19:Oral Reasons
The two-hour sessions will include:
- Rule book review
- How the class is scored and penalties
- Look at good examples and poor examples, including penalties
- Score/judge some runs, talking through them
- Practice class
- Q & A
Sessions will be recorded. Participants will have access to a secure folder with the recorded sessions and materials for each session.
Registration Fee: $35
Register at link
Contact Dr. Peggy Auwerda, 515-294-5260, peggy@iastate.edu for more information